Five-year-old Marlaina Paulding likes playing in the tents in her VPK classroom at Felix A. Williams Elementary School in Martin County. She likes learning the alphabet and numbers, and the Spanish ...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Thousands of Florida kids who go to voluntary prekindergarten, or VPK, are not ready for kindergarten, according to the state. In Florida, 4- and 5-year-olds have free access to ...

Families enrolled in the Florida’s Voluntary Pre-kindergarten program will soon have more flexible options for their 4-year-olds. The Florida Department of Education and the Office of Early Learning ...

Governor DeSantis announces a partnership between Florida’s VPK program and Florida Prepaid to help parents save for college ...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The cost of child care is on the rise and research shows it’s largely due to the pandemic. But in Florida, there is the option of free volunteer pre-kindergarten, also known as ...

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - A local elementary school was recently recognized for the exceptional quality of its VPK program. Cedar Grove Elementary School earned the highest Voluntary ...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (CBS12) — Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered changes to the state's VPK program. The Florida Department of Education said they released the 2017-2018 Voluntary Pre-k (VPK) readiness rates, ...

Hunter Geisel is a digital producer at CBS Miami. Hunter has previously produced digital content for local and national outlets, covering several topics from breaking news and current events to ...

Florida's first voluntary prekindergarten program began in 2005. The program is free for all 4-year-olds. School-readiness test scores show VPK prepares children for school. This story was updated to ...